


The Gamble

by whimsicalmuffinman



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Choking, Enemies to Lovers, Face-Fucking, First Time Blow Jobs, Gambling, Humiliation, M/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Porn with Feelings, Sexual Inexperience, Situational Humiliation, anyway kaiba discovers he has a humiliation kink and is a brat, because ofc, but only kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-05 22:27:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19049698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimsicalmuffinman/pseuds/whimsicalmuffinman
Summary: You would think after knowing him for so many years, Kaiba would have learned not to gamble against Joey Wheeler.





	The Gamble

            The heat of the summer this year was almost unbearable, driving people inside to avoid the beating of the sun on their shoulders and the thick, humid air of Domino City. It meant that indoor events, like duel tournaments, were increasingly popular at the moment, and that meant packing hundreds of sticky, sweaty bodies into a cooled tournament stadium. There was the same buzz that always came with a tournament, people cheering and talking, generally being loud. It was almost enough to give Kaiba a headache.

            Yet, here he was none-the-less, at his own tournament, ready to compete. More than that, he craved the intense competition of his youth, the rush of adrenaline from challenge. It was a shame that it was hard to find now that Yugi had lost Atem, and no longer seemed to have the vested interest in dueling him. He liked the rush, and he was admittedly grasping at straws to find contest like that again, desperate to find someone to fill the void that they’d left that had never quite been patched.

Or maybe it had been a patch for a much bigger hole that had already existed, but Kaiba didn’t want to linger on that thought, nor did he linger on the fact that he understood what he was doing was toeing the line of addiction. At least being an adrenaline junkie afforded him the ability to be in his right mind in order to take care of his brother. Arguably the last two vestiges that staved off the creeping numbness and thoughts that make him wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. He recalled Mokuba making some comment to him about how he might be less irritable if he slept more, instead of staying up late and working on whatever project was at the forefront of his mind. Seto disagreed.

Kaiba rubbed at his eyes reactively, acutely aware of the dark bags that had been set under his eyes for a long time. He was fine. He didn’t need to worry Mokuba about it, anyway, he’d steal some sleep when he had the opportunity, and hopefully he would be so exhausted that it would be a restful sleep.

Finally, the edited version of the roster considering the victories of the last stop in the tournament circuit had been displayed for the duelists backstage, and Kaiba searched through the names for his own. Finally, S. Kaiba, and he scanned the name of his opponent, recognizing it as a regional champion, though he realized flatly that it wouldn’t be any real challenge for him to beat, he was sure. He felt slightly deflated at the thought, though he did enjoy fanning his ego, this wasn’t going to give him the challenge that he was craving.

He started as he felt the rough clap of a hand on his back, and turned, glaring at whoever was the owner of the hand. _Of course_. He should have known.

“Long time, no see, Rich Boy.” Joey’s face was split into a shit-eating grin, something conspiratorial about the look in his eyes that turned Kaiba’s skin to gooseflesh. “You ready to eat dirt today?”

“Not likely, Wheeler.” Kaiba snorted dismissively. It really had been a long time since he’d seen Wheeler, though Kaiba wasn’t one for pleasantries with people, and certainly not people he viewed as below him. “I doubt you’ll even make it to me.”

“Guess you haven’t been paying much attention to who was dominating the leaderboards while you ran off to take care of your company, huh, Kaiba?” Joey made a gesture towards himself with his thumb, still grinning like he’d already won. Kaiba was forced to note that he’d sort of grown into himself, and wasn’t the same lanky teenager that had once traded insults with him.

_Now he was an adult who was trying to trade insults with him._

“I suppose moving from fourth-rate to third-rate is an improvement, but you’re still not on my level, Wheeler.” Kaiba shot back coolly. Joey’s expression soured, and Kaiba found himself smirking as his retort hit the intended mark. He was loathe to admit that he’d missed the mental gymnastics that arguing with the Nerd Herd had provided, however menial it was. Joey clicked his tongue, eyebrows furrowing.

“I guess you’ll just have to admit I’m better than you when I kick your ass today.” Joey spat, tucking his hands into his pockets in the same way that he had when he was a snot-nosed teenager. For a moment, it felt almost like nothing had changed.

“Please. I’d sooner get on my knees for you.” Kaiba laughed derisively, watching the way that Wheeler’s face twisted, trying to process his words. It was satisfying him to watch him gape and try and find words.

“You wanna bet on that?” Joey managed eventually, visibly still reeling from hearing a dirty joke come out of Seto Kaiba’s mouth.

“Why? You that desperate Wheeler?”

“I’m being serious. You’re awful confident for someone who’s been out of the game for a while, it’ll be nice to knock you down a peg or two.” Joey crossed his arms, stepping closer and glaring at him. A thrill shot up Kaiba’s spine, in part at the thought of having this to lord over Joey for the rest of his life, and the other part being the mental image of Joey going down on him.

Maybe he was pent up. He’d never considered himself particularly inclined towards sexual vices, but in this moment he thought he could be swayed. He licked his lips as subtly as he could, hoping that Wheeler hadn’t seen it, though his mouth was still feeling dry. He was suddenly keenly aware of how close Joey was standing to him.

“You’ll be regretting that when you’re looking up at me, Wheeler.” Kaiba said finally.

“Shake on it, then. If you’re not too scared to have your ego bruised.” Joey’s tone was inflammatory, galvanizing Kaiba into extending his own hand.

“Be sure to enjoy the view when I win.” Kaiba shot back, just as quickly. Joey took his hand firmly, and Kaiba felt another surge of that intoxicating feeling.

Fuck, this is what he’d been needing, had it really been as easy as antagonizing Wheeler all this time? He was well aware that what he was feeling wasn’t entirely because of their trading of insults and the prospect of a blowjob, but admitting that he was excited at the prospect of consequences for losing would have meant admitting to not having full faith in his own victory.

“Yeah, yeah, and you be sure to stretch your jaw, I’d hate for you to strain something.” Joey snorted.

“Hardly.” Kaiba waved him away as Joey released his hand. “I doubt it’d be any more difficult than sucking on a tic-tac.”

“Already thinking about my cock in your mouth, huh?” Joey said it in a husky tone that underlie some dirty thought he no-doubt had in mind. Kaiba was a little aghast at the frank language he used, winding up reeling so much that he couldn’t come up with a good enough comeback, and instead realizing that he looked dumb. Joey raised a hand and patted his cheek, clearly satisfied with himself. “I look forward to it.”

            Joey ended the conversation there, stepping past him and leaving Kaiba standing, red in the face, humiliated, and glad that most of the other contestants had already filtered out of the area to go and plan out their deck strategies. He grumbled under his breath, angry at himself for letting himself get outwitted by Wheeler, of all people, and vowed that he was going to make sure he was going to be silent for a while later tonight.

\---

            Kaiba had no problems in defeating his previous opponents, he hadn’t even broken a sweat over it, and yet…

            Kaiba was sweating now, his abdomen clenched and fluttering with the thrill of the fight, and he was sorely regretting not taking the time to rework his deck strategy since his last public duel, though he knew better than to think that Joey had actually studied his deck. He really probably should have studied more on Joey’s before this moment, his style of battle had shifted, still luck based but with a lot less variables. Smarter traps and spells, and more defense. He wasn’t just lashing out like he used to.

            Kaiba watched, mouth dropping open as Joey banished his Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon from play. There was a roar from the crowd that fell on deaf ears, Kaiba feeling like he was spinning and everything was moving slower than it should. Had he really just fallen for that? He’d spent so long working to get his Blue Eyes assembled that he was keenly aware of how low his deck was running on low level tributable monsters, and he was left nearly defenseless now. He could still summon a monster this turn and possibly save face, but there was no way that this was going to be a proud victory.

            His heart was rushing in his chest, and he could hear his blood rushing through his ears. He realized, slowly, that he was now staring directly at Joey, through the place where Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon had just been. He had a smug look about him, face pulled up into a knowing smile. It really kind of sucked being on this side of that look.

            He’d be sure to give Joey that look more once he won this. He could feel his hands trembling as he glanced back over his cards in-hand, trying to figure out what his next-best move was. There was no way that he was willingly going to go down without a fight. His body thrummed with the feeling of adrenaline rushing his veins. It felt good, this high, the feeling that made his head spin and his body shake, he realized that he was breathing heavily.

            He was so low on life points, it was almost funny. He remembered the last time this had happened, when they’d dueled in Battle City, he was sitting at 700 Life Points then. Now he’d been whittled down to 500, and Joey had the advantage at 800. He glanced up, looking at the field. Wheeler only had one monster in defense, and one face down card. It was a risk, but it always was, wasn’t it?

            “I summon a monster to the field in defense and end my turn.” Kaiba called his move, placing the card onto the duel disk, the card materializing onto the field. He leveled a cold stare at Joey, waiting to see what move he was going to make.

            “Kaiba.” Joey called across the field, and the tone of his voice sent a cold chill down his spine. He didn’t like that tone of voice, it made him feel like he was going to regret. “This should look familiar.”

            He fed a card into one of the spell slots of his duel disk, the Enemy Controller card flipping up before him.

            “I activate the effect of Enemy Controller to switch the position of your face down monster.”

Kaiba watched helplessly as Battle Ox stood, raising the Axe, ready for battle. The chills down his spine didn’t stop, and he could feel himself starting to crack. This couldn’t be happening.

“I then activate my trap card, Bad Luck Blast and target Battle Ox. I take half its Attack Points in damage…” Joey paused as his own life point counter ticked down to double digits. _50 points. This wasn’t happening_. “… and you do the same.”

There was another deafening roar of cheers from the crowd as Kaiba stared at his Life Point counter as it ticked backwards. There, it stared at him, four zeroes, and he looked until his vision blurred out of focus. His body slacked, and his legs felt weak. He nearly hitched forward until he propped himself up on his hands against the Battle Podium. He looked up realizing that Joey was surrounded by his friends—he hadn’t even realized the rest of the Nerd Herd was there, hugging and laughing and celebrating. Kaiba felt like he was being shredded from the inside out.

“Big Bro, are you ok?” Kaiba took a long moment before he realized that it was his brother speaking to him, a soft hand centered on his back, grounding him. He was so thankful for Mokuba in that moment, because had it not been for him, he might have broken down right then and there. He was still so shocked that the upset hadn’t registered in his system yet, he was still too stunned to even move.

“Mokuba.” Kaiba said, turning and looking at his brother, still distant. He’d hoped that the recognition would have brought him back to reality, but he was still floating in the ether, the sinking, sick feeling in his stomach threatening to make him dry heave.

“What’s wrong?” Mokuba’s face was creased in worry, gently rubbing circles into his brother’s back.

“I think… I think I need to sit down.” Kaiba admitted finally and allowed himself to be lead away by his younger brother while Wheeler and crew celebrated.

\---

            Kaiba had asked to be alone, to mull over the thoughts that were plaguing him, and Mokuba had graciously obliged after bringing him some water and aspirin at Kaiba’s request. He left the room dark, staring up at the ceiling from where he was laying on the couch in one of the back rooms. He’d been upstaged.

            _50 points_. He’d lost to Joey Wheeler, the one person he’d been confident would never surpass him, the one person that he’d always seen as below him. Someone who had merely stood in his way in trying to measure himself up to the Pharoah—aside from Yugi, that was.

            His body was still trembling. Was it just a fluke? _50 points_. He won with only 50 life points left, which admittedly was him diminishing his own lead, but it was a smart move, even if he’d cut it close. He’d seen Wheeler battle before. He relied a lot on his luck. He wasn’t someone who sat down and planned out extensive strategies. Was he? When had that changed? It had to be a fluke, right? There was no way that Joey Wheeler on stage, looking confident and smirking like he knew he was going to destroy Kaiba was the same Joey Wheeler who instigated a fight first thing when he’d seen him this morning, right? There was no way that was the same awkward loser who’d grabbed him by his coat lapels when they were in high school and had tried to fight him with fists instead of words. He wasn’t the same person he’d called ‘Mutt’ and ‘Dog’.

            Kaiba sat, feeling stupid. It hadn’t been luck, it had been skill. It had been a challenge that Kaiba hadn’t risen to meet. He wouldn’t let it happen again. He refused to be humiliated again. He was angry at Wheeler, for his confidence, yes, but mostly at himself, for his overconfidence. He should have known better than to underestimate someone, especially on his debut back into the tournament circuit. He had to defend his pride. He needed to work on his deck.

            He realized, with a start, that he wanted to duel Wheeler again. Kaiba had never felt that way about him before, he’d never felt like Joey was worthy of his time and respect, and now he was being forced to reconsider. It had been exhilarating to duel him, the way it had made his head spin with the adrenaline rush, and his hands were still shaking. It had been ages since he’d felt so enraptured by a duel. It had been since… since the Pharoah.

            Oh no. Kaiba’s body fell limp, arm dangling over the edge of his couch. When did it happen, exactly, that he’d started respecting Wheeler as a human, rather than thinking of him as inferior? When had he started looking him in the eyes when speaking to him? Had it been when he’d seen Joey more than willing to put himself in the way of danger for his sister? Or when he’d realized how deep his friendship ran with Yugi and his friends—in a moment where he realized how deep of a connection people could have with other people who weren’t relatives?

            One thing was certain, it had been a much longer time than just today, even if he hadn’t realized at the time.

That had been a moment of deep introspection for Kaiba, realizing that he had lacked the desire for connecting with someone on a human level other than his brother. Even once he’d given up on being aggressive toward Yugi’s friends, he’d kept them at arms-length. No one could ever get close enough to hurt him if he didn’t let them—it was how he kept control. This didn’t feel like he was in control. This felt like he was spiraling, flipping from feeling sick at the idea of letting them get any closer to him, and then the intense craving to draw them in to fill the intense loneliness that had plagued him. There was the niggling at the back of his mind that told him he needed something he couldn’t grasp, that had driven him to break down away from prying eyes on more than one occasion.

He was lost, the lines in his mind were nearly blurred to non-existence. Or perhaps, it was more apt to describe it as the line being very clear. He had people he trusted and people he didn’t and there was no flux between the two, there was no room for ‘friends’, ‘family’ or ‘lovers’ or any of that. Any relationships that he had were all kept distant intentionally, except for Mokuba, who was the person he treasured the most in the world. It had always been the two of them against the rest of the world, and that’s the way it still was… right?

Kaiba knew it wasn’t healthy for Mokuba to view the world the way that he did, but it had never occurred to him that his little brother had looked at him as a friend. It had never occurred to him that his little brother looked at Yugi and Joey and the lot as friends as well. If it was so easy for someone so young, why was it so hard for him?

He was also forced to wrestle with something else entirely. Why had he accepted that bet with Wheeler? Looking back at that, what had he been thinking? He’d automatically and stupidly assumed his own victory, but even still it was out of his character. It wasn’t the first time he’d been propositioned, but he’d never accepted before. Not to mention that he, himself, was the one who’d even brought up being on his knees for Wheeler first. He’d gotten so caught up in the rush of endorphins that he’d gotten carried away… or was he just attracted to Wheeler? The thought made him frown, the blood rushing to his face. He refused to believe that he had a crush on someone, let alone Joey Wheeler. Crushes were juvenile, not to mention fake, they were just a silly chemical reaction in the brain that were easily ignored and tamped out.

... But wasn’t that exactly what an adrenaline rush was, too? And that felt real. Logically speaking, he was fucked. Was there really anything wrong with having a crush? Well, many things, but Kaiba doubted that he would be able to logic his way out of this one. After all, he was the most stubborn person he knew.

He sighed, rubbing at his forehead. The aspirin weren’t working very well against his headache, no doubt a tension headache.

There was a gentle knock at the door, and Kaiba flinched at the way that his head pounded in response to it. He wobbled to his feet, steadying himself on the arm of the couch before he crossed to the door. He opened it, looking downward, expecting his brother, but was met with and eyeful of chest where his brother should have been. He looked up, feeling his stomach turn as he realize that it was Joey Wheeler standing there, looking at him. He was missing the smug look from earlier, though his lips did quirk up into a smile. Kaiba struggled to find words, but he waited patiently.

“Who told you where I was?” Kaiba asked.

“I asked Mokuba.” Right. Mokuba was friends with Wheeler. Kaiba hadn’t said to send people away, so he’d probably just assumed that he’d been surprised by the defeat. After all, he’d gone mostly undefeated. “I wanted to stop by and say congrats on silver.” Kaiba tensed.

“So, you came to rub it in?”

“I thought about it for a minute, but I’m not trying to rub it in. For you being out of the game for so long to take care of Kaibaland and all that, silver is really impressive.” Joey assured, and Kaiba had a hard time doubting him. There was something just a little too genuine about his tone of voice. “May I come in?”

“If you’re here to claim your ‘prize’, you’re going to have to wait. My brother is still lurking around, and the last thing I need is to scar him by having him walk in on me blowin—“

“Actually...” Joey interrupted. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”

“What more is there to say?”

            “A lot, actually. Now can I come in so we can talk in private for a minute?” Kaiba hesitated, but eventually stepped aside so that Wheeler could step into the room. Joey did, and Kaiba closed the door behind him. He didn’t bother with the lights, instead crossing the room to the couch. He stared down at his hands, rolling his thumbs over one another, not meeting Kaiba’s gaze.

            “Are you going to talk?” Kaiba asked finally, sitting down on the couch next to him, tentatively, ready to leave if he moved to touch him.

            “I wanted to give you an out.”

            “An out?”

            “I’m saying you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. I’m not gonna force you to follow through on a bet like that.” Joey paused, seeming to collect his thoughts for a moment. “I mean, it’s good for throwing your pride in your face, but I assumed you were joking. I don’t know… watching the way that your face changed when you were up on that podium I kind of assumed you were really upset about the idea, and I’m just not gonna force it.”

            “When I was on the podium…?” Kaiba looked at him, both surprised at how observant the mutt had been in the moment. (Or, he supposed, he wasn’t a mutt anymore.) He stared, open mouthed for a long minute, not sure of what to say. So, he laughed. Almost hysterically.

            “Wh—What’s so funny?” Wheeler’s eyebrows quirked downward, angrily, defensively. Did he think this was a joke? Kaiba hadn’t meant it that way.

            “That’s not what upset me.” Kaiba admitted. Joey’s face twisted into a look of confusion, as if he couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. He clearly wanted an explanation, but Kaiba had to swallow his pride first. Finally, after a long beat of silence. “I was upset because I realized… I realized I have to respect you now.”

            “Like that’s going to happen.” Joey snorted, showing no real sympathy for Kaiba, but Kaiba didn’t really expect any. He’d accepted his win graciously, and that was really all he could ask for. “But that… that doesn’t answer the question.”

            Kaiba thought about it for a moment. Did he want to do this? He’d honestly never done anything intimate with anyone—at least not that he remembered. It was hard to say, there had been times when he’d indulged in more alcohol than he’d intended to, but it still seemed out of his character to be adventurous when he was drunk. Kaiba wondered if he was bad for wanting to press his luck. He’d felt ecstatic during that duel, and maybe his blood was still thrumming with it, but he wanted to push that limit right now to see if there was any other way that Wheeler could ignite that feeling in him. He kind of liked the feeling of pressing his luck, at least when it came to Wheeler.

            “Well, I had to swallow my pride today…” Kaiba sighed, feeling a weight lift off his chest as he admitted it, admitting it as much to himself as much as he was to Joey. He realized, too, that nerves were easy to ignore, if he thought of them as just a chemical reaction. It made it a lot easier when he lifted his hand onto Joey’s lap, ghosting over his thigh, squeezing. “I guess it won’t be the only thing I swallow today.”

            Kaiba was glad that he’d forced himself to meet Joey’s gaze, if only for the fact that he didn’t miss the way that his face burned even in the darkness of the room. He gaped, again looking like he couldn’t comprehend Kaiba as a sexual being in the slightest. He would have been a little offended, had it not been for the sheepish way that Wheeler broke his gaze away.

            “I uh… I’m meant to go out to a celebration dinner with Yugi’s family.” Joey mumbled, fingers picking at the fringe of his shirt where it was starting to fray, a detail which would have annoyed Kaiba on his own clothing. Kaiba, enjoying drawing the embarrassed reaction out of him, easing his hand in closer into the other’s inner thigh, though touching nowhere truly satisfying. He squeezed the flesh again, leaning into Joey’s ear.

            “And just in case it wasn’t clear, Wheeler.” Joey shivered, reacting as on edge as a horny teenager. Kaiba mused to himself whether he’d ever starred in the fantasies that Wheeler had in the past. “You can’t tell anyone about this. Not that they’d believe you anyway, but I don’t need any rumors starting because you can’t keep your mouth shut.”

            “I wouldn’t dream of it.” Joey hummed, and he tipped his head back slightly exposing his neck for Kaiba, though Kaiba didn’t rightfully know what to do with it. Was he meant to kiss it? Was he ok with kissing it?

            There was another knock at the door, and Kaiba, panicked, jerked his hand away from Joey. Thankfully, the visitor didn’t open the door, and he waived his hand at Wheeler for him to get himself in order while he stood to answer the door. He glanced back over at him to make sure he didn’t look like a wreck before he opened the door. It was Mokuba, though Yugi and the others had trailed behind him. Yugi smiled at him, and Kaiba half expected him to point out his loss to rub it in for Joey.

            “We’ve been invited to dinner, big bro. How is your head?”

            “Considerably worse since you let Wheeler in.” Kaiba huffed, shooting a glare over his shoulder in Joey’s direction. Joey stood up from the couch, adjusting his jacket and then tucking his hands into his pockets.

            “Giving the spoiled rich kid a headache is my hobby.” Joey tipped his head in the direction of Kaiba, and Kaiba hoped the flush that still graced his cheeks had dulled enough not to tip his friends off. “I was just making sure to rub in my victory.” Joey punctuated it by patting Kaiba’s back in an affectionate way that make his lip curl.

            “Whatever, mutt.” Kaiba sneered. “Mokuba, do you really want to eat with these dweebs?” Mokuba, who had made himself a fixture at his brother’s side as soon as he was able to, nodded, smiling up at his brother. Kaiba crossed his arms over his chest, stepping out of the room, tipping his head toward Yugi, who was still smiling at him.

            “Come on, let’s go celebrate Joey’s victory.” Yugi encouraged. Joey smiled, stepping in line behind Yugi and being immediately on the receiving end of a tight hug from Tristan. Kaiba walked a few strides behind the others, watching as an outside observer, wondering what it felt like to be that close to someone.

\---

            Dinner was alright mostly pleasantries and toasts to Joey’s win, but, to his surprise, there was no real lording of the victory over Kaiba’s head. Perhaps they’d become more tactful with age. Or, maybe, they realized it was a sore subject for him, and decided to let it rest. Kaiba had mostly remained silent throughout dinner, speaking with Mokuba and Yugi in small bits, but overall left with the feeling that he didn’t belong there. He felt alien and stilted, like he stuck out like a sore thumb.

            “Joey, do you need a ride home?” Yugi asked, turning to face his friend, who’d fallen into pace next to the spaced out Kaiba.

            “Actually, me and Kaiba had a little bet going, right, Kaiba?” Kaiba felt a surge of panic shoot through him, though he tried not to let it show outwardly as his eyes darted towards Joey. “We ran into each other before the match, and I got him to agree that if I won, he’d let me take a ride in his limo.” He smirked, boastfully, tucking his arms up behind his head.

            “Right.” Kaiba breathed slowly, trying to calm the spike of worry that Joey had stirred, shooting him a glare. “Just don’t make a mess, or I’m billing you for the cleaning.” Joey clicked his tongue at Kaiba again, rolling his eyes.

            “Oh. Well enjoy your ride, and make sure you stay safe.” Yugi reminded, waving his goodbye at Joey before taking a seat in his own car. It was a little bizarre to see the young man driving, it really had been a long time since Kaiba had seen them. They’d all gone their own ways, he supposed, and left him in the charge of his company.

            Once everyone was out of earshot, Kaiba shot another withering look towards Joey.

            “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Kaiba hissed.

            “Relax, I’m not going to put my sex life on blast.”

            “Implying you have one?”

            “Oh. Low, dude.” Joey followed Kaiba towards where his driver was waiting for them. Calling Kaiba’s car a limo was something of misnomer, driving around in something that large was unwieldy, and attracted a lot of attention that he didn’t need. It was nice, though, probably nicer than anything he’d ever ridden in, if he knew the mutt.

            Not that he really did know the mutt. This was a bizarre day, a lot of learning experiences and a lot more feelings that Kaiba was used to fielding. It was sort of exhausting, honestly, he didn’t know how other people could stand to do this all the time.

            Joey whistled at the car, peering in through the window at the interior.

            “I bet it still smells like a new car.” He remarked, walking around it once despite Kaiba’s driver eyeballing him like a hawk.

            “We’ll be giving him a ride. He’s planning on visiting for a couple of hours. He’s also going to need a ride home.” Kaiba said. “Mokuba has decided to stay with a friend as well, so he’ll need picked up tomorrow. I’ll let you know the time.”

            “Yes, sir.” He stepped over, opening the door for Kaiba first, then crossing to the other side of the car to open the door for Joey, who seemed entirely too surprised at the act of chivalry. Eventually he slid into the seat next to Kaiba, sitting close to him even though there was plenty of room for him to sit elsewhere. Kaiba’s stomach was tying itself in knots despite him trying to calm himself down. He’d never been very good at handling entirely new situations, and he would classify going down on someone you thought of as your enemy until that afternoon as a very new situation.

            “Is there a partition?” Joey asked it softly, as if he was afraid to ask anything himself.

            “Could you close the partition?” Kaiba parroted the thought. He caught the confused look on the driver’s face, but a stern look from Kaiba leveled that quickly. “We need to have a word about the tournament.”

            “Yes, Kaiba sir.” The driver said, and there was the click and whir of the automated partition sliding closed.

            “Does that answer your question?” Kaiba offered, watching Joey as he fiddled with and examined the buttons on the door.

            “Have you ever done anything like this before?” Joey asked finally, though he didn’t move his gaze from the buttons. _Must be nervous_. Strange how much more in his element Joey seemed to be dueling than in situations like this. Then again, he was probably in much the same situation that he was, after all, this had been a very strange shift in the dynamic between the two of them.

            “I haven’t.” Kaiba was unsure if he was referring to giving a blowjob or if he was referring to fucking a competitor. Either way, the answer was the same. There was a silence, and Joey made no move to speak. “Have you?”

            “I uh… I have, but not with, someone like you.” Someone…? Rich? Socially stunted? That could mean any number of things.

            “What’s that supposed to mean?” Kaiba didn’t mean for it to sound as defensive as it did.

            “I’ve never gotten a blowie from a guy.” Oh. Kaiba felt like that probably should have been obvious, but the way that Joey had jumped on the suggestion this morning certainly didn’t seem to show much hesitation. There was a lapse of silence, and Joey still hadn’t looked at him. Kaiba wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say, so he didn’t say anything. Would it be weird to ask him about what experience he’d had in the past? Kaiba seriously considered it until Joey finally opened his mouth to speak again. “I honestly hadn’t expected to win.”

            Kaiba’s brain fizzled out a little at the thought and the admission that he seemed to be hinting at. He hadn’t expected to win when he’d made their wager? His stomach fluttered at the thought, a bizarre feeling, and he slid down slightly in his seat. He again, was unsure of what he was supposed to do with this information, all he knew is that he was rubbing his temples in part because he was having a hard time processing this. Today was too much.

            “Fuck, dude, I figured you wouldn’t bite when I put it out there, but you’re a prideful jackass. How was I supposed to know that you’d say yes? Or that I’d win? I thought…” Kaiba heard the squeak of the leather as Joey mirrored his action and slid down in his seat. “… I thought I’d just have some nice jackoff material, god, this is fucked.” Kaiba barked out a laugh, wondering why exactly Wheeler was telling him all this.

            “Yeah it is.”

            “Are you sure you want to do this?”

            “…Do you?”

            “Fuck, do I even have to say it?” Joey laughed, a low, pleasant sound that made Kaiba’s insides stir. “Yeah.”

            “I’ll do it.” Kaiba wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. He realized he could back out, but he didn’t want to, no matter how intense these feelings were, he wanted to do this. It was bizarre to hear all of this from Wheeler-- that he was planning on picturing him while he masturbated-- it really threw him for a loop. He wasn’t sure he was in any position to ask if there was anything underlying that thought, but he wanted to. Fuck, it would have been one hell of a power trip if he found out that Wheeler had been attracted to him all this time.

            There was a tap on the partition. Kaiba elbowed Joey, straightening himself up and rubbing at his cheeks because of the heat burning his face. Once Joey had righted himself, Kaiba pressed the rear button for opening the partition.

            “We’ve arrived sir.”

            “Thank you. We’ll see ourselves out.” Kaiba had to force his tone to be level.

            “Very well, sir.”

            “Follow me, and don’t get yourself lost.” Kaiba grunted. For once in his life, Joey seemed to follow directions well, sticking to Kaiba’s side as he rather decisively headed toward his own room. The closer he got the more his skin heated. He tried to keep pushing the thought out of his head, but it just couldn’t quite get rid of the idea that he was about to be on his knees with Joey’s dick in his mouth.

            Kaiba entered his own bedroom, wasting no time in locking his door behind them. Kaiba lingered at the door, trying to calm his breathing while Joey walked further into his room.

            “Damn. This room is huge.” Joey had focused in on the bed immediately, hands smoothing over soft, expensive sheets. Kaiba was tense, wondering where exactly they were meant to begin. “Do we need to change these? They seem kind of nice to stain…”

            “Its fine, Wheeler.” Kaiba assured, unsure of what was so particular about his sheets. Unfortunately, Kaiba had nearly forgotten the value of money in spoiling himself. He didn’t have the time to think about it now, his own mind caught up in his current situation. Kaiba clenched his hands, lowering himself onto his knees and waiting. His head spun with the feeling of adrenaline flooding his system, finally overpowering the nerves that had tangled his stomach into knots.

            “Oh, or we’re doing this standing up then.” Joey said, punctuating it with an awkward laugh. He looked Kaiba over in the position, hands hovering a few inches away from touching Kaiba, like he wasn’t sure he was allowed. Kaiba didn’t want to speak, knowing his penchant for being too blunt with his words, so he shuffled a little closer to Joey on his knees, leaning into the touch. Taking it as permission, Joey threaded his fingers into Kaiba’s hair on both sides of his head, brushing his bangs back out of his face in an intimate gesture that was foreign, but not unpleasant. What made Kaiba squirm in place, however, was the enraptured look that Joey was giving him. Normally catching someone checking him out it would gratify him, but in the moment, it made him feel tense to be looked at like that. To have Joey’s eyes trained on him and looking at him like he was trying to memorize him.

            “You’ve got gorgeous eyes.” Joey remarked to no one in particular. It was strange to hear Wheeler complementing him, but he could get used to it. Sometimes he could tolerate flattery, he supposed. Kaiba wanted more though, enjoying the buzzing sensation that had overtaken his logical thought. He cleared his throat expectantly. “What?”

            “What… do I do?” Kaiba asked, and Joey stared down at him, mouth falling open dramatically. It took him a long moment, but he seemed to realize that he genuinely didn’t know where to begin.

            “Oh, you’re serious. Er. It’s about as easy as it sounds, to be honest?” Joey offered lamely. Kaiba rolled his eyes, reaching up toward Joey’s waistband of his jeans and gripping them to pull him closer. Joey laughed, stumbling along to where Kaiba wanted him, watching him set to work on his button to keep himself occupied. “Somehow I knew you’d be demanding even in bed.”

            “Wheeler, remember whose dick is going in whose mouth.” Kaiba warned, managing to get the button of his jeans undone despite his hands shaking.

            “Won’t that look bad if you have to take me to the hospital?” Joey pointedly reminded. Kaiba scoffed, yanking his pants down off his hips rather roughly. Kaiba licked at his lips, preparing himself as he moved to pull down Joey’s boxers. He eased it down off the jut of his hips, past the slope of his stomach, finally down past his slender, half-hard cock. It wasn’t all that different from looking at his own dick, Kaiba supposed. Or, well, of course it was different, but it wasn’t horrifying or anything. Just a dick.

            A dick that was going in his mouth. With that in mind, Kaiba wondered how to start this. He glanced up toward Joey, half expecting to get some smartass remark, but he found Joey watching him, smiling.

            “Do you want me to get myself hard for you— “

            “I can do it myself.” Kaiba cut him off, insistently. He didn’t need any help with this, he could figure it out on his own. He had a dick, so this couldn’t be that hard to figure out, right? He caught Joey’s laugh, and felt, suddenly, rather humiliated at himself for being so inexperienced. He’d already gone through one defeat today, he wasn’t about to let himself have another.

            He took it into his hand, taking a tentative lick of the tip. It was no different from any other fleshy taste. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. He sighed through his nose, hesitating for a moment before opening his mouth and taking just a little more than the head in his mouth. Joey’s breath hitched, and then he sighed, pleased. Kaiba got used to the feeling of having it in his mouth. Kaiba felt Joey’s hand back in his hair again and glanced up toward him.

            “Careful of your teeth.” Joey reminded, softly. Kaiba relaxed his jaw a little more so that his teeth weren’t so close to the skin in his mouth, trying to guard his lower teeth with his tongue as he explored further. He could feel Joey twitching in his mouth as he grew harder. Kaiba had to force himself to stay focused on what he was doing instead of the noises that had loosed themselves from Wheeler’s mouth or the fact that he was still watching him as he worked. Kaiba only pushed so far as he was comfortable taking Joey into his mouth without gagging, hesitant to push himself further because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to restrain his gag reflex. It came easily, Kaiba thought, though that was to be expected since he could pretty safely make some educated guesses at what would feel nice even from his own limited experiments in the privacy of his room.

            Kaiba pulled himself back, gently sucking as he pulled back, realizing a little late perhaps that was a mistake. Joey groaned, and bucked his hips forward, pressing past Kaiba’s throat and making him jerk backwards, coughing in surprise. Joey was smoothing through his hair still as Kaiba worked through the coughing fit.

            “Fuck, sorry. I forgot you’ve never done this before.” Joey said it through heaving breath. Kaiba was a little insulted by the insinuation that he couldn’t do this. He’d just been surprised, it didn’t hurt. And fuck, he wouldn’t say it out loud, but it made his body thrum as his own cock responded.

            “I’m fine.” Kaiba huffed, yanking on Joey’s waistband again to try and get back to going down on him. “I can take it.” He tipped his head down slightly so that he wasn’t meeting Joey’s gaze, decidedly overwhelmed by the flutter of feelings it gave him that he couldn’t place. He flexed the muscles of his jaw to loosen them, preparing himself to suppress his gag if he needed to this time.

            “Don’t force yourself.”

            “I’m not forcing myself to do shit, Wheeler. I said I can handle you fucking my throat and I mean it.” Joey opened his mouth to say something more, but Kaiba silenced whatever was about to come out of his mouth by taking him back into his mouth and taking down as much of his length as he was able before he hit that instinctual urge to gag again. He sucked hard, satisfied at the startled and unabashed moan that Joey sputtered. Joey’s hands were tight in his hair again, trying to tug him backwards reflexively, like he was trying to avoid fucking up into Kaiba’s throat again. Kaiba resisted, sucking hard again and trying to draw him in deeper, rather focused on proving his point.

            “Christ, Kaiba, you’re even a stubborn fuck now huh?” Joey said, voice cracking as he shivered. Joey had mistakenly assumed that he would have been timid about this of all things, but it seemed like Kaiba was as intense about this as everything else he did.

            Kaiba slid backwards off his cock and sucked in air now that he was able, still not ready to meet Joey’s eyes. Every time his throat would tighten as Joey edged back further, his own body responded in turn, his dick starting to rub painfully against his zipper through his boxers. Would it make it weird to at least undo his pants? He didn’t want to ask; the entire situation was weird enough without him adding to it. Still, he couldn’t help himself but to rub a hand over himself through his pants.

            “Oh. I get it.” Joey laughed softly, his breath still heaving. Kaiba glanced up at him, finally meeting his gaze and realizing that he was being smiled at. Not so much in a goading, smug way, more so a look like Wheeler had just won the lottery. It took Kaiba a second to realize he’d been caught touching himself, and he cursed Wheeler for not feeling the same shame that he did sneaking glances at the other. “You sure you can handle gagging?”

            “I’ve already said I can twice. Don’t make me repeat myself again.” Kaiba’s voice was rough, and he almost didn’t recognize it as his own.

            “Alright.” Joey’s voice was low, almost a purr. “Just relax your jaw so you don’t bite, and make sure you’re breathing.” Kaiba shuffled a little closer on his knees, breathing slowly and trying to ground himself back in reality and to calm the jittery, surreal feeling that had accompanied his arousal. He felt Joey threading his fingers through his hair again, and Kaiba felt his body tremble at the affection. It felt good, no matter how much he would have liked to deny that he had any need for physical touch. He would have much preferred that Joey was touching his cock, if he was honest with himself, but he would never admit to that either.

            Finally, he opened his mouth again, taking the tip of Joey’s dick into his mouth, looking up at him through lidded eyes and signaling that he was ready. Joey hummed, still running his fingers through Kaiba’s hair intimately for a moment longer before he found his grip on the back of his head. Kaiba braced himself against Joey’s legs as the other guided his head, slowly.

            Kaiba let his eyes close, focusing on relaxing his throat as he felt the head press into the area where his gag reflex tried to trigger. He let him push past that as best as he could, despite the feeling of his eyes watering. Finally, he felt his nose press into the soft flesh and curls of hair on his groin.

            “Holy fuck.” Joey breathed and Kaiba ventured a glance up at him to make sure he hadn’t accidentally nicked him with his teeth. Instead he was met with the sight of Joey watching him, biting the knuckles of his free hand and flushed to his ears. The sight sent a shot down his spine that felt like electricity and his dick twitched hard against the teeth of his zipper. “Fuck you’re fucking hot, that’s so unfair.”

            Joey broke his gaze with Kaiba, instead tipping his head skyward as he started a slow rhythm of his hips. Kaiba immediately coughed around him, squeezing his eyes closed again and forcing his throat to relax. He felt himself flush as he realized the lewd sound that it made as Joey’s cock entered the back of his throat each time. His head swam with the feeling of his throat being fucked, his body feeling like it was on fire and nearly demanding that someone fucking touch him. He groaned involuntarily, on the verge of being out of breath and palming at himself through his pants. He was still resisting the gnawing urge to undo the fly and get relief for the pressure. Joey yanked him forward by his hair, holding him for a long moment while Kaiba coughed again around him, fighting his urge to try and shove the other back for air.

            Finally, Joey eased off and let him pull back, and Kaiba immediately sucked in air as soon as he was able, desperately trying to stop feeling so dizzy and get the air flowing back into his lungs. He realized he had been oozing slobber down his chin and was simultaneously disgusting and arousing. He could only imagine what he looked like, though judging how Joey looked debauched, he would measure himself about ten times worse. Joey’s body heaved with his breathing. Thankfully, Joey patiently waited for him and didn’t try to drag him back into it immediately. His throat felt raw and amazing.

            “That looks painful.” Joey noted haltingly, shifting his foot to gesture towards Kaiba’s erection.

            “Quite.”

            “Then take it out. I’m not going to be weirded out.” Joey assured, and then added, with some thought. “At least not more than I already am.”

            Kaiba hummed dismissively and he didn’t move to undo his pants. He mulled with the idea, though, wondering if he was willing to swallow his pride enough to jack off because Wheeler was fucking his mouth. No matter how appealing it sounded, he still felt like that was letting him win, and he could always just jack off once he went home. God it sounded appealing though, he wondered if Joey would get off on it too-- the way Kaiba was, seeing his cock hard and dripping. Kaiba squeezed at himself again, lowering his head in shame as he whimpered needily, humiliated at himself but reveling in the feeling all the same.

            Joey’s fingers weaved into Kaiba’s hair again, gently tugging him back toward his dick and Kaiba opened his mouth willingly. The salty tang of his precum hit his tongue and it was the last straw for Kaiba. He snaked his hands between his legs as Joey pulled his head down to the point of gagging again, undoing his pants button and easing his pants and boxers down lower on his hips enough to finally relieve some of the pressure on his erection. He couldn’t resist the urge to stroke himself, groaning around the dick in his mouth.

            Joey made a pleased noise, and Kaiba glanced up at him, watching him as he tried desperately to wet his lips. Kaiba tongued at Joey’s cock and moaned again as he felt it twitch in his mouth. The thought floated into his mind again of how he must have looked – maybe he looked as desperate as he felt, and some part of his hoped so. His body felt hot and sensitive, making him twitch in his hand. Everything seemed like too much, but not in a way that was unpleasant. Quite the opposite, everything thrummed and seemed alive.

            “Kaiba.” Joey spoke it like a prayer, and their gaze met again, and Joey smiled down at him again, a feeling of warmth spreading through his body that was foreign—different from the hot, liquid feeling of arousal. Kaiba hollowed his cheeks around Joey and earned an abrupt groan and Joey snapping his hips violently again into his throat. He seemed to go taut like a spring, and before Kaiba knew entirely what was happening, he was being pulled off Joey’s cock again.

            Before Kaiba was able to open his mouth to speak, he was flinching on instinct as he felt something hot splatter across his face and making a mess of his nose and cheeks. Kaiba’s jaw dropped open, torn between feeling enraged at Joey for cumming on his face with no warning and the deep feeling of humiliation that flooded him, making him shiver violently. His body felt like it was burning, and he lowered his gaze, unable to meet Joey’s eyes as he felt his own cock drip precum steadily as he reveled in the feeling.

            Kaiba expected that to be the end of it, knowing Joey would probably gloat about it and bruise his pride a little more before taking his leave and abandoning Kaiba to deal with the mess on his face and his throbbing erection. It only seemed fitting considering their history.

            “Fuck, you look good like that.” Joey practically purred it, the hand that was still entangled in his hair sliding along his jaw line, caressing the clean part of his cheek with his thumb, guiding Kaiba’s face upward and forcing him to look at him. Kaiba could feel his face radiating heat and he tried to glower at the other, but he didn’t quite manage because of his heaving breaths.

            Joey surprised him, though, releasing his jaw and crossing the room, retrieving a tissue from Kaiba’s bedside table, returning and gently wiping away the mess of semen on Kaiba’s face. Kaiba appreciated the gesture but tried to glare at him again anyway. He probably would have appreciated it a lot more if he wasn’t sitting anxiously awaiting release, too ashamed of himself to even try and jerk off in that moment again. He was ready for Joey to be on his way home, out of his house so he could masturbate and then, hopefully, forget all about this and never speak of it again to anyone.

            “Let’s get you to bed.” Joey hummed, offering a smile that gave off afterglow vibes.

            “I don’t need you babying me.”

            “I mean… I figured you didn’t want me jacking you off on the floor, but if you want to ruin your knees then be my guest.” Joey rolled his eyes, offering his hand anyway. Kaiba eyed him wearily, the idea that Joey would want to stick around and see him get off was almost more foreign to him than the concept that Joey had just wanted to give him a blowjob in the first place. He felt a little hesitant, worried it may be a trap, but then again… he was already pushing his own boundaries so far, he wasn’t sure there was a way that he could come out of this without sabotaging himself.

            Kaiba finally accepted his hand, still bewildered, but following Joey purely on the prospect of finally getting some release. He was led to his own bed, and just as with the blowjob, he really had no clue where he was meant to start with this either. When they reached the edge of the bed he didn’t move because he didn’t know _how_ he should.

            Joey watched him expectantly for a few seconds, then seeming to realize that Kaiba was still looking lost, he placed a hand on both of Kaiba’s shoulders and gave him a gentle shove back onto the bed. Kaiba let himself fall, shifting uncomfortably as his cock throbbed again after bouncing off his clothed stomach, still dripping. He felt almost uncomfortably exposed, but the feeling only seemed to exacerbate the feeling of shame and that correlated pang of excitement.

  Joey shuffled onto the bed on his knees after him, curling his body against Kaiba’s side in a half sitting position and wasting no time in tracing his hands along Kaiba’s body leaning in and encroaching on Kaiba’s personal space in ways Kaiba had thought he’d never even have to worry about in his entire life. He didn’t want it to stop though, lost in the intense brain fog of arousal.

            “Can I kiss you?” Joey asked it lowly into Kaiba’s ear, earning a shiver.

            “Nnnnn…” Kaiba jumped to say no, but he wasn’t sure if that was what he wanted or if he was just afraid of enjoying himself if he did. He’d never been good at unwinding about anything, least of all attraction, and so far, the entirety of this experience had proven that repeatedly. Joey was patient, hand still not touching anywhere truly satisfying and driving Kaiba nuts.

            “No?”

            “I don’t know.” Kaiba huffed finally, squirming under Joey’s hands, wishing he’d make a move to do something.

            “Do you want to try?”

            “I want you to touch my dick already.” Kaiba snapped, glowering at the other. Joey laughed, seemingly not offended in the slightest at Kaiba’s tone. Instead he smiled warmly, fingers tracing along the vee of Kaiba’s hips and finally— _thank god! –_ finally wrapped a hand around Kaiba and slowly found a rhythm. It wasn’t the rough touch Kaiba was craving, but it was something and Kaiba wasn’t able to keep himself from loosing a wanton moan.

            Kaiba let his eyes close, trying to buck his hips up into the grip on his cock impatiently, but Joey was easily keeping him from doing just that. If he had known Joey was going to be a tease, Kaiba would have chased him out as soon as they were done.

            “Look at me.” It wasn’t a question, it was a demand, and it shot an electric tingle down Kaiba’s spine. Kaiba opened his eyes finally, finding it hard to focus on the other’s face thanks to the flood of endorphins hitting his brain. He did his best to pull that same glare, but to no real avail. “I ‘touched your dick, already’, now can I have that kiss?”

            “Fuck you’re annoying, Wheeler.” Kaiba swore, just wanting for the other to jerk him to completion already to stop the overwhelming flood of new feelings before he made more of a fool of himself than he already had. Agitated and beyond the point of caring to overthink anything now that he had someone touching him, he reached up and grabbed the other by the collar and yanked until their lips were crushed together without finesse. He was a little irritated by the feeling of Joey’s mouth curling into a smile against his, but the sentiment was short lived as Joey picked up his pace and twisted his wrist in a way that felt unreal.

            Kaiba had figured that Joey would mainly be showing him up regarding sexual experience, but he seemed to surpass that above and beyond in the kissing department. If his mind wasn’t swimming with sex hormones and adrenaline, he would have appreciated how easy it was for Joey to ease his mouth open. Had Kaiba been capable of any real thought he may wonder at how much experience was normal for someone his age, but those feelings were blessedly silent for the time being and he was able to relax into the more carnal desires.

            Joey pulled back after a moment, seeming to relish in the view as he kept up his pace for only a couple seconds longer, going back to just teasing. It was another long moment before Kaiba even seemed to process this, peeling open unfocused eyes. He didn’t seem to be capable of words, only managing a satisfyingly uncharacteristic whine.

            Joey was deliberate as he moved, shifting his position and working his way down the bed, paying careful attention as Kaiba finally seemed to refocus on him before he finally and rather decisively took Kaiba’s dick into his throat as fluidly as he could manage.  Kaiba seemed to rediscover his ability to speak, shouting hoarse swears as his hands scrabbled and tore at his bedsheets, arching up hard into the wet heat of the mouth on him. Joey didn’t let Kaiba choke him, having the foresight to place some of his weight on Kaiba’s hips to prevent just that. Kaiba writhed, and Joey could tell he was close from the way his cock twitched violently in his mouth.

            Joey hummed around him, sucking lazily on Kaiba’s cock through his squirming, holding steady until the other came down his throat in hot spurts. Joey relished in the debauched moans that he’d been able to draw from Kaiba, mouth and tongue working at him until he had no more to give, only stopping when Kaiba finally shied away from the touch because it was too much, jerking and rolling onto his side.

            Kaiba was left panting, his body heaving with each breath. Joey slid up next to him, recognizing that he wasn’t quite back on Earth just yet, wrapping a comforting arm around the other and mumbling encouragement into Kaiba’s ear. Kaiba only caught bits and pieces, about him being “needy and cute” and that he “did well”. If he was more self-aware, he probably would have been a little offended, but as he was still coming down from the mind shattering orgasm the comfort of being held and talked to wasn’t remiss.

            The two laid like that until Kaiba’s breathing had settled and his exhaustion had finally caught up to him, dragging him almost immediately down into sleep now that the tension had left his whole body. Joey wasn’t offended at it either—it hadn’t been very hard for Joey to figure out that this had been Kaiba’s first real sexual experience with another human simply based on how he’d acted. Rather, Joey was a little proud of himself for being capable of getting the billionaire to turn to putty under his hands.

            Joey wanted to linger, though, which posed a problem. He was positive that Kaiba wouldn’t want to see him there in the morning, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to leave yet. He resolved he would wait until he was sure Kaiba was fully asleep before he’d slip out. Until then, Joey was tracing patterns against the other’s stomach through the fabric of his shirt.

            Joey had… complex feelings towards Kaiba, to say the least. They were hard and confusing to deal with – unsure of what exactly he considered Kaiba. He hesitated to say friend or enemy with any real conviction, and he even further hesitated to say it was just pure sexual attraction that drew Joey to him after all they’d been through.

            The thing was, Joey knew it was foolish of him to expect anything from Kaiba, especially when he wasn’t sure of exactly what he wanted either. It was nice to just co-exist like this now, being amicable and not having Kaiba jump down his throat. For now, it would have to do, just this private moment which confirmed for Joey that there was more to Seto Kaiba than what he showed on the outside.

            These were complex feelings that he’d have to deal with in the morning, when he was alone. When he was more able to come to terms with what all of this meant in the grand scheme of things. Right now, he needed to leave Kaiba to sleep – god knew he needed it-- and then tidy up to make his way out.

            Joey moved slowly, not wanting to wake Kaiba if he could. He would have seemed peacefully at rest were it not for the way his hand shot out, clamping down around Joey’s wrist as he made to move. Joey took a second peek at the sleeping form only to realize he was now very much away again and peering up at him through heavily lidded eyes.

            “Don’t you dare, Wheeler. I’m comfortable.” Kaiba said it, though there was none of his usual venom to it. Joey had to laugh as Kaiba tugged on his wrist, urging him to spoon him again. Joey complied, pulling Kaiba in a little closer to his body this time and relishing in his warmth. “Besides, you owe me a rematch for that fluke of a duel.”

            “Sure, Kaiba.” Joey mumbled the words into Kaiba’s hair, starting to feel the call of sleep on his own body. Kaiba hummed his response, apparently already drifting off again as well.

            They fell asleep like that, with Kaiba’s hand resting on top of the one Joey had tangled into his shirt, and Joey softly pressing his lips into Kaiba’s hair with his arm tucked under his head.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed.
> 
> I like to think their nap was interrupted the next morning by a very pissed off Mokuba because Kaiba never gave the driver that time or address. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
